from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

The playoffs start Saturday for the Senators.

Six points back of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference as the NHL's mandated three-day break comes to an end, the Senators have their work cut out for them if they're going to get up off the mat after an inconsistent start to this year and make the post-season....

With a 14-14-6 record in the first 34 games, a check of sportsclubstats.com Friday rated the Senators with only a 15% chance of making the playoffs at the Christmas break. The site says if the Senators go 28-15-5 in their final 48 games to get to 95 points their chances of being in the post-season will be 52.3%.

No, the numbers don't mean much, but they do tell you the Senators have to set a torrid pace to get to the playoffs. The good news for the Senators is with 20 road games under their belts they'll spend most of their time at home once the schedule really begins to heat up.

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